Introductory Information from Work Group Chairs:

Chair: Senator Lee Beyer, Senate District 6

During the 2017 session, the Senate and House environment committees held a series of joint meetings to hear from experts regarding state and regional cap-and-invest policies and programs. This led to the introduction of the Clean Energy Jobs bill, Senate Bill 1070, at the end of the session. It is now time for more detailed work on individual components of an Oregon program. The Utilities and Transportation Work Group was created to review and make recommendations on specific components of a cap-and-invest program for Oregon. Work group recommendations and outcomes will be reported to a joint meeting of the Senate and House environment committees in later November.

Work Group Charge:

Discuss compliance with cap-and-invest, flexibility, and cost containment with regard to utilities and transportation.

Utilities -- Policy Questions to Answer:

How would compliance with cap-and-invest and other existing policies interact for different power suppliers?

How can a cap-and-invest program be designed to be as complementary as possible to existing policies in the electricity sector?

What are potential interests and concerns related to allocation for utilities, especially the consignment methodology and process?

What policies are needed to ensure cost containment, flexibility, and stable energy prices?

Transportation -- Policy Questions to Answer:

How would cap-and-invest and other existing policies interact for different fuel suppliers and different fuel users?

What mechanisms would or could be in place to ensure cost containment and flexibility?

How should we structure advisory committees and relevant funds created by the cap-and-invest legislation, and what investment opportunities exist for proceeds in the Highway Trust Fund? What investment opportunities might specifically mitigate higher fuel prices for certain fuel user groups (e.g. freight)?

How, if at all, will a cap-and-invest program affect the 2017 transportation package?

Work group agendas and meeting materials will be posted on this webpage. The workgroup is being staffed by Beth Patrino, committee analyst. Beth can be reached by phone at 503-986-1751 or by email at Beth.Patrino@oregonlegislature.gov.

Meeting Times:

The work group meetings will also be livestreamed. To access the livestream videos, please navigate to the Legislative Audio and Video webpage and scroll down to "Live and Upcoming Meetings" to find the correct work group. Recordings of past work group meetings will also be linked under the Work Group Agenda and Materials section below.